The second round of the European Championship darts competition concludes on Saturday night and by the end of the evening the quarter final line up will be complete ahead of a frantic Sunday which concludes the tournament.
The big names made it through the top half of the draw on Friday night and on Saturday some more household players will be looking to join them as this tournament gets set to crank up a notch.
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Michael Smith vs Benito van de Pas
The evening gets underway with the battle of the younger players as Michael Smith takes on Benito van de Pas over the best of 19 legs. These two are no strangers to each other having met 10 times with both guys winning five each.
Consistency is often an issue for both of these players and the one who maintains their form for the longest should come out on top. Given how close their head to head record is you would think this would be a close match but only one of their meetings has gone to a deciding leg.
The best way to play this match in my eyes is for Smith to hit more than 4.5 180s. He ploughed in 12 of them when these two met at the World Championship a couple of years ago and hit three in his first round win. He’s one of the heavier scorers there is and that line looks achievable.
Rob Cross vs Dave Chisnall
Potentially the most interesting match of the night comes in the second game where the man who is rising through the ranks at an amazing rate in Rob Cross takes on the seasoned campaigner Dave Chisnall.
These two are both at the top level of the game and I expect this to be a real close one but rather than bet on the match, given that I’m on Chisnall outright I’ll hope he’ll win and head to the 180s where the 11.5 line looks fairly low.
These two have met on a stage twice this year. In the first of those meetings they produced 11 180s between them in nine legs and seven in eight legs in the other so when they meet they score well. That should continue here so I’m expecting to see a dozen more 180s.
Stephen Bunting vs Daryl Gurney
Daryl Gurney continues his quest for back-to-back major titles when he goes up against Stephen Bunting for a place in the quarter finals. Both these men are capable of winning this tournament so this should be a cracking contest.
Bunting came from the clouds to touch off Joe Cullen in the first round and he should be able to relax over this longer distance while Gurney eased past Steve Beaton and will be looking to kick on from here on in this weekend.
This could go either way in my eyes. I would lean towards Gurney but not through any form of confidence so rather than bet on this one I’ll take a watching brief.
Peter Wright vs Jonny Clayton
Two of the better performers from the first round meet in the final match of the second round when Peter Wright takes on Jonny Clayton. Both men look in excellent form so this should be a good way to finish the night.
You would think over the course of this distance Wright’s extra quality will shine through and that is how I see it but I don’t see Clayton going down tamely. He is in excellent form right now and appears to be scoring brilliantly. His Players Championship tournament win recently has given him plenty of confidence and between the two of them they can push this one beyond 15.5 legs before it concludes.
Tips
Back M.Smith – Over 4.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Boylesports
Back him here:
Back R.Cross vs D.Chisnall – Over 11.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Ladbrokes
Back it here:
WON – Back P.Wright vs J.Clayton – Over 15.5 legs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Coral
Back it here:
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